The present invention relates generally to a system and method which provide information in a particular format. In particular, the invention is directed towards process control systems and method s in which data or images of data may be displayed without having to download additional software for such display.
Conventional process control systems may include a plurality of smart field devices positioned at various s locations on a network. The smart field devices may include a processor, and can be temperature sensors, pressure sensors, flow rate sensors, valves, switches, etc., or combinations thereof The smart field devices may be communicatively coupled to each other using an open smart communications protocol. Such open smart communications protocols may include HART(copyright), PROFIBUS(copyright), FOUNDATION(copyright) Fieldbus, etc. These open smart communications protocols may enable the smart field devices that are manufactured by different manufactures to be used together in the same system. These conventional systems also may include a controller communicatively coupled to each of the smart field devices using the open smart communications protocol, and a server communicatively coupled to the controller using, for example, an Ethernet connection. Moreover the controller may include a processor, and can receive data from each of the smart field devices.
In operation, each smart field device may perform a function within the control process. For example, a temperature sensor may measure a temperature of a liquid, a pressure sensor may measure pressure within a container, a flow rate sensor may measure a flow rate of the liquid, etc. Similarly, valves and switches may open to provide or increase the flow rate of the liquid, or can close to stop the flow of the liquid or to decrease the flow rate of the liquid. After the smart field devices obtain measurements of various process parameters, or after the smart field devices open or close the valves or switches, the smart field devices may communicate with the controller. For example, the smart field devices may forward the data to the controller, and the controller can implement a control procedure based on the received data.
Moreover, the controller may forward the data to a server, which may store the data in a database in a particular format, e.g., a JAVA format, an Active X format, etc. Subsequently, a computer system may access the database to retrieve the data, and also downloads an appropriate software program, e.g., JAVA applet, Active X applet, etc., to allow the user of the computer system to view the data. After the computer system receives the data and downloads the appropriate software program, the computer system may display such data in the particular format, e.g., JAVA format, Active X format, etc.
However, when the computer system downloads the software program, the computer system may be exposed to computer executable viruses which can be activated or obtained during such software downloads. Moreover, when the computer system is a slower or older computer system, downloading such software may take more than a desired or acceptable amount of time. Further, because the computer system accesses the database, the computer system may have access to proprietary information, which can be obtained by an unauthorized user.
Therefore, a need has arisen to provide systems and methods which overcome the above-described and other shortcomings of the conventional systems and processes. One of the advantages of the present invention is that a pure hypertext markup language (HTML) page including data or an image of the data, can be transmitted to the computer system. Consequently, a user of the computer system may display the data using any computer system, e.g., a personal computer, palm pilot, cellular phone, etc., using any browser, without downloading additional software. Another advantage of the present invention is that the computer system preferably does not have access to proprietary information.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a system and method for providing information for a process are provided. In this embodiment, a controller is communicatively coupled to at least one smart field device using an open smart communications protocol, and a server is communicatively coupled to the controller. Such open smart communications protocol may include a Foundation Fieldbus protocol, a PROFIBUS protocol, etc. The server is adapted to receive data associated with the smart field device from the controller. The server also may be adapted to transmit the data in a HTML format, or may be adapted to transmit an image which was generated based on the data. When the server is adapted to transmit the data in the HTML format, the server may further be adapted to store the data in an active server page format. For example, the system also may include a computer system, and the server may transmit the data or the image of the data to the computer system. The computer system then can display the data in the HTML format, or may display the image of the data.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the smart field device includes a first processor, the controller includes a second processor, and the second processor forwards the data to the server. The smart field device can be a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a flow rate sensor, a valve and/or a switch. Moreover, the data can include values associated with at least one measurement performed by the smart field device, such as a temperature, pressure, flow rate, etc. The data also can include an amount of time that the at least one smart field device has been in operation, a position of the valve, a position of the switch, etc.